Altuve, Gurriel exit Globe Life with bangs
Verlander rebounds after shaky first, retires the final 15 batters he faces
ARLINGTON — Barring a playoff matchup, the Astros finished their final visit to Globe Life Park confirming what they had known going into the four-game series: Pitchers were not welcome.
Between the Astros and Rangers, who next year will play in a new roofed stadium across the street, 37 pitchers were used in 38 innings, with many forced off the mound when a lead was lost or a deficit doubled. They threw 1,352 pitches and allowed 51 runs. Hitters totaled 248 plate appearances and hit 15 home runs.
Three long nights’ journeys into Sunday ended with the Astros blowing out the Rangers 12-4 to split the series and outscore them 27-24.
Home run explosions on Friday and Saturday did not reignite until the Astros mounted a seven-run seventh inning Sunday. Runs had scored only on singles and sacrifice flies to that point. Then Jose Altuve launched a grand slam, and Yuli Gurriel added a tworun homer. Altuve, who went 3-for-5, gave Houston its ninth grand slam this season, setting a franchise record. In the series, he had eight hits in 19 at-bats, two homers, six RBIs and seven runs.
“Offense was excellent,”
said Astros starter Justin Verlander, who didn’t allow a homer in his six innings and improved to 11-4 this season.
Verlander nonetheless slogged through the first three innings, as did Rangers counterpart Ariel Jurado, who threw 76 pitches to Verlander’s 53.
Jurado gave up five runs in four innings, but he handed the game to the Astros in the first. He struggled to throw strikes so much during one stretch that 10 of 11 pitches were balls. With the bases loaded and nobody out, he had to challenge Yordan Alvarez. The towering rookie enjoying a torrid introduction to the majors drained Jurado of 11 pitches, most of which were thrown inside but did not make Alvarez look crowded at the plate.
Alvarez ripped an RBI single to right field, giving him 29 RBIs in his first 23 games. Gurriel followed with a single, and Josh Reddick hit a sacrifice fly to give Verlander a 3-0 cushion before he ever took the mound.
Verlander needed all three runs to get through the first inning with a lead. The Rangers scored twice on four singles and would have tied the game if not for shortstop Myles Straw.
With runners in scoring position and two outs, Rougned Odor laced a ground ball up the middle. Straw, who was positioned deep behind second base, raced toward the hole up the middle, made a diving stop in the grass, sprang to his feet and fired a throw toward home plate that arrived in time to nab Nomar Mazara in a rundown.
Verlander settled in afterward, retiring the last 15 batters he faced after issuing a leadoff walk in the second. He finished with seven strikeouts in six innings.
At the completion of the fifth inning, former Rangers outfielder Reuben Sierra tore a page off a giant calendar above the left-field stands to reveal the number of games left at the ballpark: 31.
“This is one of my favorite places to play,” said Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, who drove in a run with a second-inning sacrifice fly.
The fourth-year infielder flourished as a visiting villain. He had a .319 (38-for-119) batting average, six home runs, 19 RBIs and a .980 OPS in Arlington.
“I'm gonna miss it here,” Bregman said. “It’s a fun atmosphere. When it’s packed, it’s a blast.”
Altuve and Verlander will not miss it.
“I think my average here is really low,” said Altuve, who hit .298 at Globe Life Park — perhaps low by his standards.
“I was about to say yeah. But no,” Verlander said. “I lost in the playoffs here. Had some tough starts. I didn’t realize it was my last start here. Came away with a W. Whoof.”
The Astros left Arlington with a new respect for the Rangers, who were expected to be in a rebuilding mode this season.
“We’ve learned our lesson the hard way,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “These guys hit the ball out of the ballpark.”
After the Astros visit the Los Angeles Angels for a four-game series starting Monday, the Rangers will visit Minute Maid Park for three games this coming weekend.